Lady&#39;s undergarment



Au 18, 1942. w. POLESIE LADYS UNDERGARMENT 3 Sheats-Shbt 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1941 mun Illl II iii" INVENTOR MAL/HM POLES/E ATTORNEYS v 1942. w. POLESIE 2,293,627

LADYS UNDERGARMENT Filed Dec. 16, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTYOR MA A MM P04 ES/E BY fly K r ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1942. w. POLESIE LADYS UNDERGARMENT Filed Dec. 16. 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOVR l V/LL 07M P0455;

ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1942 LADY S UN DERGARMEN '1 William Polesie, New York, N. Y., assignor t- Oorsetry Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 16, 1941, Serial No. 423,137

3 Claims.

The invention relates to an article of apparel constituting a ladys undergarment. Such undergarment may take the form of a girdle or a combination garment, which latter is a unitary garment including a brassiere portion and a girdle.

An object of the invention is to provide a construction of such a garment, whether of the girdle or combination type, which will make possible the convenient adjustment or lowering of the rear or seat portion of the garment with facility and without effecting the natural molding and body controlling functions of the garment when the garment is again brought cornpletely to body encircling position.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a ladys undergarment which may be conveniently adjusted so that a part thereof is opened, or the seat portion of the garment easily lowered, permitting the wearer to assume a sitting attitude, without strain upon the garment or inconvenience to the wearer and to thereafter, when again assuming a standing position, to conveniently readjust the garment to its body molding. and controlling position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a garment of the girdle type with means making it possible to lower the seat or rear portion of the garment without having the remaining portion of the garment displaced from the body and to make possible the retention of such remaining portion of the girdle upon the wearers body while the wearer is assuming a sitting posture and to thereafter again bring the entire garment into body conforming and controlling position without the necessity of further adjustment then the relocation and attachment of the seat portion to the body of the garment in a simple and facile manner.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an undergarment of this general character with means constituting a pair of side flaps with which the garment may be conveniently brought to a condition in which the seat portion thereof is dropped and to reconstitute the garment by raising such seat portion to its proper position by the ready manipulation of fastening elements conveniently located upon the garment body.

A'still further object of the invention is to provide such an undergarment with means for facilitating the adjustment of the flaps or abdomen encircling portions of the garment to conform with the natural contours of the body of the wearer atdifferent times so as to preclude the is applied to a ladys undergarment of the girdle type, i. e. one which encircles the body of the wearer only in the region of the abdomen, in which latter embodiment specific additional adjuncts are necessarily used in order to provide the facility of permitting the dropping of the seat portion of the garment without the remaining portion of the garment being displaced from the body of the wearer. 7

The specific embodiment of my invention as applied to a ladys undergarment of the combination type is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings; The second embodiment of my invention as applied to a girdle, is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive of the drawings.

In such drawings,

Fig. 1 is a rear View of a combination garment in the construction of which my invention has been embodied;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the garment in its condition when applied to the body of the wearer;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the garment with the rear or seat portion thereof dropped when the wearer of the garment desires to assume a sitting position and the portion of the garment is to be removed from immediate contact with the body of the wearer;

Fig. 4' is a front view of a ladys undergarment of the girdle type to which my invention has been applied;

Fig. 5 is a side view thereof;

Fig. dis a side view of the garment with the seat portion thereof dropped; and

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the garment in its condition as illustrated in Fig. 6, i. c. with the seat portion thereof dropped.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in which similar reference characters identify similar parts in the several views, and particularly to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the garment consists of a front section HI and a rear or seat section II, these two sections being joined at each sideof the garment by side sections I2, 12,

which extend downwardly from the waistportion to at least a point below the hip portion. Ex-

tending from the waist portion of the garment upwardly is a brassiere portion 13 of any conventional construction or configuration. The garment is retained upon the body of the wearer in conventional manner by means of the shoulder straps I 3, I l, the brassiere portion being secured about the bust of the wearer by means of any conventional fastening structure it joining the rear portions of the brassiere.

From the lower extremity of the garment extend conventional hose supporters l5, It.

The side sections I2 are provided, throughout a little more than one half their length so' as to extend downwardly to at least the widest portion of the seat section, and approximately centrally disposed of the sections, with a hookless fastener structure I! overlying strips of material l8 along the edges of which may be provided hook and eye fastener elements is, by means of which the two portions of the side sections may be first joined together to facilitate the closure or disengagement of the hookless slide fasteners.

The hookless fastener structure and the hook and eye connecting elements extending approximately three-quarters of the way down the side sections l2, make possible, by the disengagement of such two sets of fastener structures, to bring the said seat section I to its lowered or dropped position, as clearly illustrated in Fig, 3, so as to have such seat section become folded over upon itself. The wearer of the garment may then, with the garment still in position upon her body, assume a sitting posture, for instance upon a toilet seat, without stretching or straining the garment and without the discomfort that would be entailed by the necessity of raising the rear portions of the garment and, as a matter of fact, curling upwardly the entire body portion of the garment, including the front section, in order to assume such sitting position.

It is to be noted that in this embodiment of my invention, as applied to a foundation or combination garment, the dropping of the seat section II may be accomplished without alteration of the position of the garment upon the body of the wearer, the brassiere section being quite sufficient to retain the garment in its proper position upon the body of the wearer until the seat section is again brought to its original position upwardly by the re-fastening of the hook and eye elements and the re-engagement of the hookless fastener structure.

The embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 4 to "I, inclusive, incorporates a necessary change in the construction of the girdle in order to make possible the use of the drop seat structure. It is to be noted that if a drop seat structure, such as is embodied in the garment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, is applied to a ladys undergarment of the girdle type and the rear or seat section should be brought to its lowered position, the garment would have no support upon the body of the wearer and would drop completely from its body confining position, necessitating an entire reapplication and readjustment of the garment upon the body of the wearer subsequent to the raising of the seat section and its fastening to the remainder of the body of the girdle.

In' order to overcome this difficulty, I have provided an undergarment of the girdle type, to which my drop seat structure is applicable, with a strip of material extending from the side portions of the girdle across the back, so as to overlie the small of the back of the wearer. This section, forming a part of the girdle proper, is effective to maintain the garment of the girdle type upon the body of the wearer, even after the seat section has been brought to its lower or dropped position, as will be explained hereinafter.

The garment of the girdle type, constructed in accordance with my invention and illustrated in Figs. 4 to '7, inclusive, comprises a pair of front sections 2|, 2|, which of course are merely illustrative, as the front section may be constituted of a single piece. To each side of the front sections 2|, 21, are joined side sections 22, 22, hose supporters 23 being suspended in conventional manner from the bottom edge of the arment.

From points slightly below the midpoints of the side sections 2?. and secured to the rear section 24 of the girdle, extend upwardly a pair of flaps 25, 25, joined to the rear section of the garment by stitching 26, which flaps are of substantially trapezoidal configuration, each having a lower edge 21 extending angularly and upwardly from the point of juncture of the flap with the side section to the edges of the front sections 2| when the garment is in position upon the wearer. The vertical edges of the flaps 25 are provided with a set of hook and eye fastener elements 28 adapted to engage or be engaged by corresponding hook and eye elements 29 provided upon adjacent edges of the front sections 2 I.

Secured to the upper edges of the side sections 22 underlying the flaps 25 is a strip of fabric 38 extending across the upper portion of the front and side sections 2| and 22 which may preferably be constituted of an elastic material stretchable horizontally or across the body of the girdle.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, when the wearer of the girdle desires to assume a sitting position, with the lower rear section of the girdle out of contact with her body, it is only necessary for her to disconnect the two flap members 25 by disengaging the hook and eye fastener elements 28 and 29 and thereby permit the upper portion 32 of the rear section of the garment, together with the two flap elements 25, to be dropped downwardly, thereby exposing the lower portion of her body. The position of the lower seat section of the garment thus dropped is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. t will be noted that the entire rest of the garment is held in position upon the body of the wearer by the complete encircling of her body by the front section of the garment and the back strip 33 extending across the small of her back, which back strip 3!] is disengageable when donning or removing the garment in its entirety, by the hook and eye elements 33.

When the seat of the garment is again to be replaced, it is only necessary for the wearer to raise such upper seat portion 32 to bodily contact and to bring the two flap elements 25 to their position in front of the upper portions of the side sections 22 and to fasten the hook and eye elements 28 and 29, whereupon the girdle will again be in proper body confining position upon the wearer.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 4 to '7 inclusive, I have also provided for the contingency of having the girdle constitute a completely and properly molding body control garment which would be comfortable to the wearer at all times. For this contingency, I provide a plurality of sets of hook elements 3| positioned in line slightly to one side of the edge of the front sections 2%. as shown clearly in Fig. 6, so that the two fiap elements 25 may be fastened, so as to overlie the side sections, at a plurality of positions, depending upon the girth of the wearer at various times. By the provision of this means of securing the two flaps 25 along various lines of hook elements, provided upon the side sections 22, the wearer may produce a body confining effect commensurate with her particular girth at any time during her wearing of the garment. Thus, it may be necessary for the wearer, during a particular time of the day, to loosen the garment, as it may be. too tight for her, or vice versa, and this may be readily accomplished by the provision of various lines of fastener elements, as hereinabove described.

While I have described particular embodiments of my invention, it is obvious that such embodiments are illustrated and described only by way of example, and not by way of limitation, as various changes may be made therein without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a ladys form-fitting and body encircling undergarment. a front section, a rear section engaging closely the body of the wearer below the hips and having a seat portion, expansible inserts extending downwardly from the waist portion to at least a point below the hip portion, the upper portion of said rear setcion being provided with means at each side and extending downwardly to at least the widest portion of such seat portion, to disengage said upper portion from the body of the garment, whereby the upperportion of said rear section may be disengaged from contact with the body of the wearer and dropped rearwardly to overlie the bottom portion of said rear section and thereby present a rear opening in the garment for use in sitting posture of the wearer, and means for retaining the garment on the body of the wearer when said upper portion of the back section is not in contact with the body. 7

2. In a ladys form-fitting and body encircling combination undergarment, a front section, a rear section engaging closely the body of the wearer below the hips and having a seat portion, expansible inserts extending downwardly from the waist portion to at least a point below the hip portion, a brassire section, and a pair of shoulder straps extending from said brassiere section, the upper portion of said rear section being provided with means at each side and extending downwardly to at least the widest portion of such seat portion to disengage said upper portion from the body of the garment, whereby the upper portion of said rear section may be disengaged from contact with the body of the wearer and dropped rearwardly to overlie the bottom portion of said rear section and thereby present a rear opening in the garment for use in sitting posture of the wearer.

3. In a ladys form-fitting and body encircling undergarment of the girdle type, a front section, a rear section engaging closely the body of the wearer below the hips and having a seat portion, expansible inserts extending downwardly from the Waist portion to at least a point below the hip portion, the upper portion of said rear section being provided with means at each side and extending downwardly to at least the widest portion of such seat portion to disengage said upper portion from the body of the garment, whereby the upper portion of said rear section may be disengaged from contact with the body of the wearer and dropped rearwardly to overlie the bottom portion of said rear section and thereby present a rear opening in the garment for use in sitting posture of the wearer, and means for retaining the garment on the body of the wearer when said upper portion of the back section is not in contact with the body.

WILLIAM POLESIE. 

